We spent the month of December in a fundamental Islamic area of Malaysia. Malaysia is a cultural melting pot with the three main groups being the Malay people, the Malaysian-Chinese people, and the Malaysian-Indian people. The majority of the people who lived in our small jungle town were Muslim. In this area you could be arrested for sharing Christ with Muslims but you could share with non-Muslims. Most of the women wore Hijab’s (Malaysian headscarves) and we often heard the “Call to prayer” playing at the nearby mosque. It was eye-opening living in an area where Believers are persecuted for their faith on a regular basis and made us realize how fortunate we are to live in America. We met a pastor our first night there, who has been beaten numerous times for his faith in Christ by Hindu’s, and now is blind in one eye. It was an honor to shake the man’s hand.
Our primary ministry was teaching English to teenagers in our small town. We also were blessed with the opportunity to visit indigenous people up in the mountains on several days during the month. These people live very simple lives in homes made of sticks perched up off the ground on stilts with thatched roofs made of palm branches. At nightfall they filled a tin can with oil and put a piece of rolled up cloth inside of it, lighting it on fire to make a candle. Most of the indigenous families we visited were believers in Christ, in Malaysia, being a believer could mean losing everything; job, house, friends, and respect of the community. These people are awesome. Getting to a church in these isolated areas is difficult for the indigenous people, so we spent time with them, encouraging them, praying for them, singing worship, and putting on kids programs for the numerous children who would congregate.
During the end of the month we traveled to a new city and spent several days with a Chinese family of believers who we fell in love with. They felt like our own family even though we only knew them for a few days- the bond of Christ! They gave Bekah medicine when she had the flu, taught us a chinese toast and even made us Shepard's Pie. Christmas Eve and Christmas day were spent planning a Christmas program that we would present on Christmas night. Our group led Christmas singing, performed the “Lifehouse” skit, and Bekah led a children’s candle dance to “Silent Night”. A large crowd showed up and after a local pastor gave the message, numerous people made the decision to receive Christ. Praise God!!!! It was amazing to be there. We found out the next day that one of the men that sat in the front row died after he left our program on Christmas night. We are so thankful that he had the opportunity to hear about Jesus before he died. This was the most memorable Christmas we’ve ever had. We are honored to have spent it expanding the Kingdom.
